Avoiding the Issue: Epilogue
by rowanashke
Summary: A short, fluffy epilogue to Avoiding the Issue. Can be read seperately but it might be a bit confusing. A quiet moment with Ibiki and Shibi.


Ibiki yawned and stretched. He hadn't been this tired but happy in…

Well, a long time.

Shibi caught his yawn. Glancing over at the man, Ibiki felt a smile tugging on his face. Shibi looked…shit. He looked smug, like a cat. He also looked sleepy and sated, with his lips swollen from kisses and his eyes half-shut. Familiar and different.

"You're a really strange person." Ibiki said quietly. "How long?"

Shibi gave him a quick, sideways glance. "How long what?"

"How long have you been wanting to do that? More specifically, how long have you been wanting to do that with me?"

Shibi laughed almost soundlessly. "Not very long. But it wasn't all Iruka." He sighed, then rolled over to give Ibiki a serious, thoughtful look. "My marriage to Shino's mother…" Ibiki noted that he never used her name… "…was arranged by my father. Shino's mother was not of our clan; she hated the Kikaichu, hated to see them, or to be reminded that they were there. So she never looked into my eyes. I came to her in the night; I left when we were done. We were both virgins. We figured out the mechanics on our own. But it was never good; there was little pleasure. It was a duty. I thought that was how it was."

Ibiki sighed.

"Then I really started paying attention to those around me. I listened to Genma talk incessantly about sex. I saw the antics at the parties I was forced to attend. I saw my teammate…" he gave Ibiki a quick, short smile. "…one of my teammates…dance from relationship to relationship. I started to wonder if…there wasn't more to sex than mechanics and duty. So I started spying."

Ibiki choked. "You were spying on people having sex?" he managed.

Shibi nodded. "With the Kikaichu. And I noticed there seemed to be a great amount of pleasure going on. But I was stuck there."

Ibiki nodded. "Huh. Ibiki…why didn't you come to me earlier?"

"Because you showed no interest in it whatsoever." Shibi said calmly. "You never had it; I watched. You never even did the thing…by yourself." Ibiki hesitated. "I truly assumed you were not interested."

He's been spying on me. Ibiki thought he should be pissed; he felt sad instead. His poor friend, always on the outside of the group.

"When I realized how much you liked Iruka, it fell into place." Shibi continued quietly. "I understood. And I realized that you and I are very much alike."

"Yeah." Ibiki said with a sigh. "Always have been, really."

"Yes." Shibi smiled slowly. "Always." He stretched a little, finding a more comfortable spot in the mattress, and then reached out to touch Ibiki's leg carefully with one finger. A very light touch, but it spoke volumes.

Ibiki sighed. He wasn't much of a snuggler; it really wasn't in his nature to be openly affectionate with anyone. But Shibi had been lying alone, watching other people and trying to figure out why everyone liked this so much. Always alone.

He lay down carefully and fitted his body to the other man's. After a moment's hesitation, Shibi slid his arm around Ibiki's shoulder and lowered his head, resting it on Ibiki's shoulder.

It was…nice. Safe. Comfortable. Ibiki could feel the beating of Shibi's heart through his chest. Ibiki had really never felt this safe before. It was kind of strange.

And nice. Ibiki realized that he'd been craving this for a long time. Not so much the sex; sex was very enjoyable. But it was the contact he'd craved. The interaction. The feeling of being important to someone, even for a few moments.

Of course, there was always a danger. A danger that something would happen and it would be Shibi strapped into his chair, Shibi who he questioned mercilessly. Shibi who's fingers he would break, who's arm he would stick with the needle, who's eyes he would be watching, looking for a sign of weakness. Shibi who's blood he would be washing from his hands.

He shuddered.

"Don't." Shibi whispered. "Don't think of the possible future. For people like you and me, all we can count on is the now."

"Hmm." He said quietly. It was enough.

"You know…" Ibiki said quietly after a while. "I wonder if Kakashi can keep his mouth shut."

"Kakashi?" Ibiki felt Shibi's confusion.

"Yeh." Ibiki said, tipping his head back to start nibbling on the bug-man's lips. "I think I want to borrow some of his books."

…Epilogue


End file.
